Former Karnataka chief minister S M Krishna was on Monday sworn in as the Maharashtra Governor.

Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Dalveer Bhandari administered the oath of office to Krishna.

Opposition leaders stayed away from the ceremony.

Krishna replaces Mohammad Fazal, who completed his tenure on November 26.

Krishna is the second former chief minister of Congress to be made governor. Earlier, Sushil Kumar Shinde, who headed the government in Maharashtra before the assembly elections, was made Andhra Pradesh governor.

Krishna inspected a guard of honour after the ceremony. Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and energy minister Dilip Valse Patil were present on the occasion.

Earlier, Krishna was asked about his position on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute, the reason for which some Sena leaders had expressed reservations about his appointment. He said, "My loyalty will be with the Constitution."